


Some Sweet Company

by CutieScoutie, epilogues



Category: Homestuck
Genre: (it makes sense we promise), Earth C (Homestuck), First Kiss, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant, Talking Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28677486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CutieScoutie/pseuds/CutieScoutie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/epilogues/pseuds/epilogues
Summary: No one ever tells you that becoming a god might mean that you get magical animal companions. Or that said magical animal companions will want to play matchmaker.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 18
Kudos: 65





	Some Sweet Company

**Author's Note:**

> these boys deserve fluff and i'll stand by that til i die! enjoy the fic AND the amazing art by bee!! -val (epilogues)
> 
> *insert a key smash* first time getting my writing published. this was so much fun. please enjoy. - bee (cutiescoutie)

Before the crows show up, Dave is having a totally average and, frankly, pretty good day. He’s in his room trying to figure out the best way to hang up all of the photos he not so sneakily took of his friends over the past month or so, and if he’s honest, it’s harder than he’d anticipated.

For starters, half of them are somehow just of Karkat, which makes sense given the amount of time they spend together but is absurd in every other respect, and really, Dave’s pretty sure that it would be at least a little gay to devote half of his photo wall to his best bro. The rest are a pretty good mix, but again - even if he sprinkles that Karkats throughout, like a scowling garnish on a fresh bowl of Olive Garden pasta, he’s pretty sure it might still come across as something outside of the strictly platonic realm they exist in.

So, with all that said, the first crow that appears is almost a welcome distraction. It lands on Dave’s windowsill with a soft flutter of wings and  _ caws  _ softly when Dave looks up at it.

“Uh, hey, little dude,” Dave says. “I gotta say, my room isn’t, like, historically the best place for crows? Since. You know. But you’re welcome to hang out if you want.” 

The moment he finishes talking, he winces a bit to himself, because wow, he really just went ahead and started talking to the bird on his windowsill. But then, because Dave is pretty sure that at this point, his life is nothing more than a bunch of shittily cobbled together fantasy tropes, the bird talks back.

_ Dave!  _ the crow says.  _ Dave! _

Okay, well, maybe “says” isn’t exactly the word for it? It’s more like the words are telepathically beamed into Dave’s head, which sounds just as stupid as it does strangely accurate. 

Dave puts the stack of photos he’s holding down onto his desk and squints at the crow. “Did you just say-think that at me?”

_ Dave!  _ the crow repeats.  _ Yes! _

“Huh,” Dave says. “Uh. Can I help you?”

Before the crow can answer, though, another flutter of wings announces the arrival of two more crows on the windowsill. The first one - or at least, what Dave is pretty sure is the first one, the fuckers are already kind of impossible to tell apart - hops forward onto Dave’s desk, sending a couple of loose photos onto the floor. It caws loudly and a little obnoxiously, and Dave scoots his chair backwards. 

“Look, not that I’m not, like, bird advocate number one, I mean, I became part bird once? Well. A doomed version of me became part bird once, and then part troll cat girl thing, but that’s not the point, I’m just saying that a little respect for a dude’s personal space might be nice. So assuming that you can actually understand me and we’re not operating on some weird coincidental timing here, uh, would you mind going back outside?” 

The crow looks at him for a moment, then turns its head back to face its buddies, which somehow have multiplied from two to four. They caw amongst themselves for a moment, then the first crow looks directly at Dave. 

_ Dave! Stay!  _ it says. 

“I mean, I’m not going anywhere, this is my fuckin’ room and all,” Dave starts, “but-”

Another crow hops onto his desk and ruffles its feathers before joining into the pseudo-conversation.  _ We were told you’d be smarter, asshole.  _

“Hey!” Dave protests. He stands up from his chair and takes a step away from the crows. “Don’t call me an asshole, you’re literally a bird  _ and _ you’re the ones, like, hijacking my goddamn room.” 

_ I meant it nicely,  _ the crow retorts, somehow managing to sound snarky even over whatever weird telepathic connection it’s forged. 

“Okay, okay, just - what do you want?” Dave asks again. As he speaks, a couple more crows fly into his room, some even venturing further than his desk and landing on his bed, just to be replaced by more crowding onto the windowsill. 

The first crow caws.  _ Dave!  _

“Yeah, yeah, that’s me, but what does that mean? Are you, like, some omen? Am I going to die but not really because, you know, god, remember? Or are you just here to piss me off? Did Karkat send you or something?” 

The crows just look at him blankly. A few on the windowsill cock their heads to the side, which would be kind of cute if it wasn’t for their whole invading-Dave’s-room deal. 

“Shit, yeah, that was a lot, sorry. Uh. One at a time, I guess. Are you here to warn me of some impending doom?”

_ Nope!  _ says the first crow. 

“Okay, okay, cool, uh, did Karkat send you? Or Rose?”

_ We sent ourselves,  _ the second crow explains.  _ Duh.  _

Dave throws his hands up in the air, narrowly missing some of the crows that are now just kind of circling around his ceiling fan. What the fuck is his life? “Jeez, sorry, didn’t mean to insult your birdly autonomy or whatever.”

The second crow ruffles its feathers again.  _ Apology semi-accepted.  _

“Cool,” Dave says. “Cool, cool, cool. So, do you have a message or a reason for being here or did you just… show up to interrupt my important godly business?” 

One of the crows on the windowsill tilts its head towards the stack of photos on Dave’s desk. Conveying skepticism in avian body language isn’t a feat Dave thought could be done, but damn if that bird doesn’t do it perfectly. 

“Hey, you’re a bird, you don’t know what important godly business is,” Dave tells it. “Also, y’all didn’t answer my question.” 

_ We’re here because you’re you,  _ the second crow says, like that clears anything up.

_ Dave!  _ the first crow adds. 

“Yeah, no, I know my own name,” Dave says. “So you’re just here because I’m - Dave.” 

_ Dave! Yes!  _

_ You are a god, and we are your patron animal, in a sense. We are drawn to you. It’s really not that difficult to understand.  _

Dave slides his hands under his shades and rubs at his eyes. Jesus Christ. Being a god is cool and all, but he’s pretty sure that no one warned him about the bird companion clause or whatever the fuck. “Okay,” he starts, then stops. “Okay. Okay, this is - okay. Not that I’m not flattered or whatever, but could y’all maybe hang out some other time? And possibly some other place that’s not my room where I sleep and spend most of my time?” 

The second crow does something that approximates a shrug.  _ I think I’ll stay, actually.  _ Several of the other crows hopping and fluttering around Dave’s room in what unfortunately sounds like agreement. 

_ Stay!  _ the first crow emphasizes. 

“C’mon, guys,” Dave protests. “I can… we can hang out later, maybe? God, I can’t believe I’m saying this to fucking  _ birds.  _ But seriously. The window’s right there, just fly on back to wherever you came from, and we can raincheck on the hangouts or whatever it is you want.” 

_ No! Stay!  _

The second crow nods its head at the first.  _ What he said, although imagine I said it in a somewhat less inane manner.  _

“Jesus Christ,” Dave mutters. “Okay. Okay, you know what? If y’all aren’t going to leave, then I will. Just don’t, like, shit all over my stuff or anything? And don’t fuck anything up? And definitely don’t follow me. Cool?” 

Dave doesn’t wait for an answer before grabbing his phone and absconding from his room, closing the door firmly behind himself. Hopefully, without him around, the birds will clear out, and double hopefully, the fact that none of them are following him at this exact moment will mean that they won’t try and catch up to him.

He’s not trying to be a dick about it or anything, he’s sure they’re nice enough, except for the one rude little asshole, but come  _ on.  _ Again, he’s pretty sure that no one warned him that becoming a god would mean opening his room to flocks of birds at any given time. 

Dave gets to the bottom floor of his apartment complex and heads outside. He doesn’t have a destination in mind at first, but as he starts to walk, he realizes that he’s making his way to the beach and figures that that works as well as anything else. There aren’t a ton of trees there, and he’s pretty sure that birds are, like, all about trees, which hopefully will mean a crow-free evening. Hopefully. 

...

If Karkat had to name one thing he doesn’t miss about living on Alternia, the first thing that would come to his mind would be the constant feeling of being trapped in his own hive. He rarely had the opportunity to personally interact with the outside world - after all, he only had one living being that would not cull him the moment they saw the wretched color of his blood, and that was his lusus. 

Then, after Alternia got destroyed, he couldn’t fully appreciate the artificial nature of the game’s planets either, least of all his own planet. And then, during his sweep-and-a-half-long journey to the Alpha session, he had to ditch the four grey walls of his own respite block for the endless expanse of dark grey corridors that somehow felt even more isolating, even though the meteor undoubtedly felt just the tiniest of smidgens safer with the humans around. The sweep and a half he spent there did not really ease his stir-crazy mind no matter how much time he spent messing around with Dave. He could not really put a finger on what exactly he was missing no matter how many times he tried. 

That was, of course, before he arrived on Earth C, where he finally had the opportunity to experience nature. 

Karkat had never seen the ocean up close, nor was he ever so stupid to walk out into the sun unprotected. Which is why he currently finds himself liking the fact that the sun on Earth is not hot enough to burn and the oceans are generally safer to bathe in and the air is safe to breathe, filling his nose with salt. 

The beach he is currently on is peaceful, and so, so wonderfully calm. The sun is about to set, giving everything around him a reddish-orange tint. The rays feel warm on his skin and watching it fall beyond the horizon has become one of Karkat’s new favorite pastimes. 

That, and collecting the shells that washed up on the shore. He is currently ankle deep in a shallow enclave between two smoothed out rocks, watching as the gentle falling tide washes over the smooth sand, uncovering the colorful remnants of sea life. He does not immediately bend down and grab the first thing he sees - at this point, he has collected enough rounded pieces of glass and scallops to decorate all of his bookshelves. He is deeply set on collecting something that would complement the interior of his new hive. 

Something bright red captures his attention, causing him to perk up. He bends down and grabs the stick he found stuck between two rocks and pokes at the thing gently, prying it from under the sand. Water rushes into the disturbance he creates, making it easier to flip the thing over. 

He almost falls ass first into the water when he spots the thing wiggle under the tip of the stick. 

_ Hey! _ a voice seemingly from nowhere calls to him.  _ That was rude! _

Karkat looks around and scans the beach, eyes wide. There is not a single soul in eyeshot, so he looks down on the thing he was poking and blinks at the small chitinous creature he had mistaken for a seashell. “What the-” 

It wiggles itself all the way out of the sand and takes the opportunity to wash the little rocks stuck to its surface on the oncoming wave, using its push to crawl out of the water’s reach. 

_ Why did you do that? _ The same voice asks accusingly. 

Karkat’s eyes widen some more but he manages to compose himself, squatting with feet firmly planted in the sand and takes a proper look at whatever the fuck he just found. He gasps softly when it turns around, now safely out of the water, and lifts its pair of bright red chelae. 

He would recognize that creature anywhere. 

“Holy shit. I didn’t know Earth C had crabbeasts.”

_ Well, duh _ , the voice answers,  _ of course it has. And they don’t like being interrupted during their rest. _

He blinks, somehow realizing that the voice in his head is the crab talking to him. “Um… I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to interrupt, I thought you were a seashell.”

The crab clicks at him.  _ I am nothing of the sorts! Do I look like a hermit to you? _

Karkat looks at the crab, really looks at it, and tries to make sense of what is happening right now. He has seen plenty of crazy stuff and the fact that he can lead a conversation with a crab doesn’t surprise him as much as it should. Something dull pangs at his chest when he remembers that the first and last time he has spoken with his lusus was when he was dead and prototyped into a sprite. 

“How can you talk to me? You don’t look like a consort.”

Another voice answers him, silky and smooth.  _ We’re not consorts, dude. Whatever the fuck that is. _ Karkat looks up to the boulder he is squatting next to and his gaze lands on another bright red crab, this time with two dark spots on its outer shell.  _ You ever heard of spirit animals? _

Karkat nods, lost for words. 

_ ‘xactly, _ the crab confirms, swaying from side to side.  _ A couple of crabs fresh out of nature, at your service. Except that I’m not going to serve you, that would be super dumb. I just crab around, imagine how long it would take me to complete a task for you. I mean, what would you even ask me to do? Catch you a fish? I mean, I technically could, but what would the fucking point of that be?  _

Karkat raises an eyebrow at the crab’s chattiness. “Then what is the point of understanding you?”

The dark-spotted crab starts crawling, expertly navigating the nooks and crevices of the dark rock.  _ So we can talk, obviously. My crabby senses are telling me you’ve got some baggage you need to hash out and, unlike my cranky colleague right here, I am here to listen.  _

_ Psh, _ the first crab says, offended.  _ He interrupted me! _

The second crab walks up to the sandy part of the beach and stops next to the first one. The one with dark spots is comparably much bigger in size, perhaps even a different species, judging by the difference in the shape of their legs. It grabs the nearest pebble and throws it at the first one. Karkat fails to stop a snort when the first crab jumps back and screeches, offended even more. 

_ And he already said he’s sorry, so what?  _ Argues the second crab.  _ You gonna keep bringing it up until we’ve dissected all the different kinda ways anybody ever inconvenienced you?  _

The first crab groans, if it even is possible for a crab to groan. 

_ Thought so _ , the second crab says simply, smugly, and turns its attention to Karkat again.  _ Sorry for that. He can be a real party pooper sometimes.  _

“No shit,” Karkat agrees, shaking his head at the sight. Just as he says that, a couple more crabs emerge from behind the rocks and curiously look at him. Karkat counts eight in total and hums appreciatively at the sight. “Impressive. Where did you all come from?”

_ We’re the best at hiding, what can I say _ , answers the dark-spotted crab.  _ So _ , he adds.  _ Would you like to keep us company, Karkat?  _

One especially small crab quickly crawls towards him, trying to capture his attention via wide movements of its thin limbs.  _ Karkat! Up! Up! _

Karkat offers his palm, expectant. It eagerly hops on, making itself comfortable like a bird in a nest. He observes how the sun reflects on the dark, felt-like surface of this particular crab and smiles at how cute it is. His lusus used to nest in a similar fashion. 

Soon, Karkat finds himself sitting on a dryer section of the beach, facing the setting sun, surrounded by a bunch of crabs. They mostly talk to each other but Karkat doesn’t mind that. The dark-spotted crab sits on Karkat’s knee, actually making an effort to speak with him. 

“You know, I thought that Paradox Space would give me a break with weird game mechanics now that we actually won the game. I certainly didn’t expect this.”

_ Hey, I’m pretty sure that this isn’t just a weird game mechanic.  _

“What else would it be, then?”

_ Shit, man, I dunno. Fate, maybe?  _

“Yeah, right. Fate can go shove it. All that fate brought me was sweeps of mind-numbing fear and dead friends.”

The crab pauses long enough for Karkat to look at it in concern. He prepares to speak but he doesn’t get the chance. 

_ Hey, even if it isn’t fate at least you have the people who travelled with you, right? And you get to live with them here, in the universe you were directly responsible for creating.  _ A pause.  _ You do have someone to spend the eternity with, right?  _

Karkat blinks at the crab, lost for words once again. He inhales and tries to find a coherent response to that, looking pointedly into the sand in front of him. He does have someone he could spend his life with. He has Dave. 

Dave is… someone Karkat considers to be his closest friend, and the feelings go even beyond that. Yes, they are both taking their time to understand where exactly their relationship stands - especially Dave, like he usually does - but he sincerely hopes that the two of them continue to be partners for life. Bros for life. Whatever. Karkat is willing to take the massive crush he’s been hoarding for the better portion of the meteor trip and all the time afterwards and keep it under wraps if needed. 

His thoughts and the peaceful scene get broken up by a familiar voice casually and very smoothly sliding into his ear shot. 

“Wtf dude, you look like a mythical crab whisperer. You got a pretty decent crab army going on in here.”

Karkat turns his head. Speak of the Devil. 

“Hello, Dave. I don’t know where you got the idea, since there are nowhere near enough warriors to form a rank.” Karkat gestures towards the crabs. “These are my new friends. I won’t bother explaining this to you, since you wouldn’t understand the delicate bond between a man and his-” he looks at the crabs “-animal companions.”

Dave walks up to him, frowns at the way his sneakers dip into the sand and bends down to untie them. “I see, I see. Well, I think you should humor me anyway, Karkat. Maybe I talk to animals too. Maybe the years of bottled up emotions finally caught up to us and we are finally officially out of our goddamn minds.”

Dave sets his shoes aside and takes off his socks, shoving them into the red sneakers, and then topples down next to Karkat like the sack of potatoes he is. He dips his legs into the sand and sighs at how good it feels. After his regular sand assessment is done, he gives Karkat a look obscured by his ever-present sunglasses. 

“What do you mean?” Karkat asks, offering a palm to the dark-spotted crab. It climbs on without a protest and waits. 

“A bunch of crows just claimed my bedroom. One of them called me an asshole.”

Karkat nods appreciatively. “Well, it wasn’t wrong.” 

Dave laughs at that and gently shoves Karkat in the shoulder. “Hey, come on. Dude.”

Karkat is glad he is able to joke around with someone like this. A small smile rests on his lips when he asks, “Why did you come here?”

Dave lays back in the sand, craning his neck to look up at the cloudless sky. “I wanted to hang up some of the pictures we took but the feathery assholes were getting a little too loud and cranky, so I needed to get away. I assumed the beach would be a good place to go since the crows probably won’t follow me here.” 

It takes only a second for Karkat to process the words. “You needed to get away from something loud and cranky… and you came here?”

Dave makes an expression that says he probably sees what Karkat means and shakes his head in a so-so way. “Alright, but, to be fair, I didn’t know I would find you here.”

“Sure, Dave, sure.” 

“It’s a total coincidence, man, you’ve got nothing on me.”

Karkat obviously doesn’t believe that, not entirely, and he looks at the crab in his hand. For it’s former chattiness, it is unusually silent now. He returns its pointed gaze. “Some coincidence,” he mumbles, probably to himself. Or maybe to the crab. Who even knows. “How about I introduce you to my new friends?” Karkat offers and shifts his position to face Dave. “What do you say,” he asks the crab. “Would you like to get to know each other?”

_ He won’t understand me, but I sure as fuck can try. He looks exactly like the kind of a dude I would vibe with.  _

Dave sits up, brushing off bits of sand from his elbows. “Shit, dude, sure. Show me your crab battalion.”

Karkat ignores the obviously incorrect usage of a military term. He regards the crab apologetically. “I’m sorry, um… I didn’t get to ask you. What’s your name?” 

The crab rests its bright red choppers in front of itself and sighs.  _ This will probably surprise you, but we don’t really have names _ . 

“Oh.” 

Dave gives him an amused look. Karkat glares back. “Not a word, Strider. Not a fucking word.”

Dave mimics zipping his mouth but the smile is still there. Fucker. 

Karkat sighs. “We could name them together, I guess.”

Dave considers the bunch of crabs currently digging around the sand in front of them and then his eyes fall on the one Karkat is holding. “I like this one. He has interesting spots on his back. It looks cool.”

Karkat lifts the crab up and hovers it in such a way that he can compare it with Dave’s face. “Huh. Now that you mention it, you even look alike.”

Dave grins. “Haha, yeah, this is great, I got my own little crabsona here.” 

Karkat bites his bottom lip and repeatedly looks between the crab and Dave. The crab’s voice in his head sounds incredibly smug and pleased, and that’s when Karkat realizes he has been fucked over by a cleverly orchestrated plan. He can feel warmth on his cheeks that has nothing to do with the setting sun. 

_ I am your favorite, aren’t I? It’s ok, I have that effect on people. Ladies and gentlecrabs alike cannot resist my chaaaarm.  _

“Jesus, you even  _ talk  _ the same. I’m so fucking dense for not realizing this sooner.” Dave’s smile widens as Karkat reaches out and grabs his arm. “Here, you little shit,” Karkat says, not really knowing which one of them he is referring to, “it was clearly meant to be, so why don’t you two bond?” He places the crab onto Dave’s outstretched hand. It stills as the small creature’s legs make contact with his skin. “Why won’t you take the opportunity and give him a name?” 

Dave hums and eyes crab suspiciously. “Shit, does he even want me to?” The grab clacks it’s nippers decisively. “Was that a yes?” More clacks. “Ok, cool. I thereby give the name… Miles. Red Miles.” 

Karkat slowly closes his eyes and hides them behind his palm. “You are  _ so  _ stupid.” 

_ Nah, I kinda like it.  _

“No, you are stupid too for liking that name,” Karkat says, shaking his head. He is not really mad, it’s just that this is the usual bullshit Dave pulls and he revels in how familiar it feels, at this point. “Unbelievable.”

“Aw, I’m glad he won’t bite my finger off for that. That’s my man. May I?” Dave lifts his hand and gently pats the crab on the head with the tip of his fingers. Red Miles doesn’t protest and lets himself be pet. “Man, this is great, I have never seen a living crab before. I used to have one preserved in a jar, though.”

_ I really didn’t need to know that, dude, but just to be perfectly clear here, all cards on the table - I can and I will bite if you try to do something sketchy. _

Karkat bites the inside of his cheek in order to keep the amused snort in. He mostly succeeds by clearing his throat. 

“Alright. Let’s name the other ones, shall we?” 

… 

It takes a bit of time to give all of the crabs perfect names, but eventually, Dave and Karkat do it. Karkat tries to give them cool names, like Pincher and Stabs, but most of the little poor bastards end up with names like Sweet Geoff and Tabasco Sauce If It Was Alive, thanks to Dave. It’s… endearing, in a stupid way.  _ Dave  _ is endearing, in a stupid way.

That, though, is something that Karkat is trying very, very hard not to think too hard about. He’s spent plenty of time pining after Dave while hanging out with him, so he’s kind of an expert at shoving his feelings down, but something about today just feels - different. 

Maybe it’s the fact that this is one of the very few times that they’ve hung out on the beach together. Dave is relaxed in a way Karkat rarely sees, leaning back on his elbows and letting some of the crabs entertain themselves by tossing heaps of sand onto his feet. The setting sun is reflected in his shades, and when he looks over at Karkat to say something completely stupid, Karkat can’t imagine ever wanting to be anywhere else.

But then again, maybe the difference is because of the crabs. They’re cute, scuttling around in the sand and over Dave and Karkat both, and watching Dave interact with them does something to Karkat’s bloodpusher that he’d rather not define because it would, frankly, be a little embarrassing. It’s just  _ cute.  _ Dave is so careful with them when they hop up onto his outstretched palms, and even though he can’t understand them, he talks to them softly, asking them how they’re doing and what it’s like to be a crab.

Karkat doesn’t realize that he’s just quietly staring until Red Miles climbs up onto his leg and clicks to get his attention.  _ Hey, Earth to Karkat,  _ he says.  _ Earth C to Karkat? Man, I don’t know, I’m a fuckin’ crab. What are you staring at? You look kinda lost in the sauce.  _

Karkat blinks and abruptly drops his gaze down to the crab. Fuck, he really doesn’t know how he didn’t put together how similar Red Miles was to Dave until Dave pointed it out. “None of your business,” he says, scowling down at the crab in a way he doesn’t actually mean.

“Oh, shit, is he getting personal over there?” Dave says, nodding down to Red Miles. “C’mon, he’s, like, a magical crab, I’m pretty sure his business is whatever he wants it to be.” 

_ What he said,  _ Red Miles says smugly.  _ Not that that wasn’t practically a rhetorical question, because you’re pretty much the least subtle troll ever.  _

“Yeah, well, shut up,” Karkat grumbles. It’s not his best comeback, but c’mon! No one should ever have to deal with two Dave Striders at once, even if one is technically not Dave at all and just a crab. 

“Fuckin’ got ‘em,” Dave snorts, and Karkat glares at him. God, he really has the worst taste in crushes. “Hey, so-” 

In a turn of events so rare it borders on miraculous, Dave cuts himself off. He turns to look over his shoulder and sighs. “Oh, damn, look.” 

Karkat turns to look as well, not sure what he’s expecting until his gaze lands on a small group of crows, getting closer and closer until they land on the sand around him and Dave. “I’m guessing these are the crows from your room?” he says.

Dave is quiet for a moment, like he’s listening to the crows, then nods. “Yeah, I guess they found me. Uh, hey? I mean, I can’t really stop y’all from hanging out, huh, but it’s cool, this isn’t, like, my literal house or anything, so - uh, this is Karkat and a bunch of crabs? I could go through all of the crab names but - yeah, no, I figured you wouldn’t really want to know them.”

A large crow flies up onto Dave’s shoulder and caws, and Dave snorts. “Wait, hang on, I bet you’re Karkat’s crowsona, aren’t you? Like, Red Miles is kinda like me, so it would make sense for you to be kinda like him.” 

“Wait a second,” Karkat demands, “how is it like me?” 

Dave laughs a little. “You know, snarky, loud, calls me an asshole a lot. I mean, other than the wings and shit, y’all are basically clones.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Karkat says, then turns to the crow. “Uh, hi? Do you have a name?” 

The crow is quiet for a second, presumably because it’s talking to Dave, and then Dave shakes his head. “Nope, but he says he doesn’t want any quote unquote stupid names like whatever Red Miles means - sorry, buddy.”

Red Miles clicks, clearly unoffended.  _ It’s cool _ . 

“He says it’s cool,” Karkat says. 

“Cool,” Dave says. He looks down at one of the crows for a moment, then holds out his arm. “Yeah, sure, climb aboard. You’re on the Strider Express now, hope you didn’t lose your ticket, hey, Karkat, was there a troll Polar Express? Trollar Express?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” 

“I guess not,” Dave says. “Wild.” The crow hops up onto his arm, and he uses his other hand to carefully pet its back. “Hey, y’all are, like, kinda cool when you’re not invading my house.” 

Karkat snorts at that, but Dave holds a hand up before he can say anything. 

“Listen, dude, I can fuckin’ guarantee that you’d be nowhere near as chill with any of these little guys if they just showed up in your room.” 

“I  _ guess _ ,” Karkat admits, “but I don’t know. I mean, I grew up with a giant crab in my hive pretty much all the time.”

“Fair, fair,” Dave says. He gently nudges the crows off of himself, and they hop down to the ground and start mingling with some of the crabs, which is cuter than it has any right to be.. Dave lies down and tucks his hands behind his head, then looks over at Karkat, which is somehow  _ also  _ cuter than it has any right to be. “This is pretty badass, honestly, like, I guess we just have this army of little animal minions now?” 

“Oh, yeah, totally badass,” Karkat says dryly. “That was human sarcasm, by the way.” 

“Wait, shit, really? I didn’t notice,” Dave replies. “That was also human sarcasm, by the way, but no, seriously, you can’t tell me it’s not at least a  _ little  _ badass. Like, fuckin’, look at Sweet Geoff over there, he’s obviously cut out to be a general.” 

The crab in question clicks his claws together.  _ No, thanks.  _

“Good call,” Karkat tells him. 

“Aw, what’d he say?” Dave asks, pushing himself back up onto his elbows. 

“He said no, thanks, and also that you’re an idiot.”

_ Hey!  _ Sweet Geoff protests. Karkat holds a finger to his lips, and Sweet Geoff clicks once before scuttling away.

“C’mon, that’s just rude,” Dave says. “Both of you, actually - hey!”

Karkat looks over at Dave’s exclamation to find him swatting at a crow that’s landed on his stomach. It caws but flutters away a moment later, and Dave shakes his head.

“Very badass, Dave,” Karkat says, laughing a little.

“Oh, shut up,” Dave mutters. He sits all the way back up and crosses his legs, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. “Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen different animals just, like, hang out together like this? Fuckin’ animal shindig over here or something, but it’s kinda cute.”

Karkat follows his best guess at Dave’s gaze down to the animals around them, which are, in fact, just - hanging out. Some of the crows are following the crabs and vice versa, some seem to be communicating somehow, and some are just standing right by each other. Red Miles and the first crow that arrived fall into the last group. They’re standing side by side and staring out towards the ocean, which makes him think about fate again, in a weird, embarrassing way. Also in a bullshit way, because as he said earlier, fate can  _ fucking  _ shove it, and because reading into the behaviors of literal animals, no matter how magical they may or may not be, is just bullshit. Yeah. Obviously. 

After another beat of silence, Karkat realizes that Dave is probably still waiting for some sort of response and mentally swears at himself. “Uh, yeah,” he says quickly. “I guess it is kinda cool. I never would’ve thought that crabbeasts and any sort of wingbeast would get along, but I guess anyone can coexist when they’re magical and not on a murder planet.” 

Dave laughs a little. “That sounds like the moral of, like, some sort of fairy tale or some shit, like, you get to the end and the fairy godmother or whoever waves her wand, all, “Remember, dearie, anyone can coexist when they’re magical and not on a murder planet!” And then she turns something into a pumpkin just for shits, giggles, and a weird sort of thematic gourd callback, and then leaves us all to dwell on those words of absolutely goddamn sacred wisdom.” 

“Okay, I’m not going to even try to unpack whatever that was,” Karkat says, “but no, I know that was an idiot way of putting it, but seriously! No one would’ve thought that they would be able to hang out, but they actually seem to get along pretty well.” 

There’s a beat. Karkat thinks back on what he literally just said and cringes a bit, because  _ really _ ? Was that any better than the murder planet thing? Especially because he had to go and make it general enough that that it could sound like - 

“Kinda like us, huh?” Dave says, somehow pulling the words directly out of Karkat’s inner monologue. “Like, who would’ve thought we’d actually end up voluntarily spending time together? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s fuckin’ great, just, who would’ve thought?”   


“Yeah,” Karkat agrees. “Brace yourself, I’m about to say something sincere-”

“Oh, shit, let me put on my seatbelt. One second, it’s locking up, wait for it, wait for it… okay, we’re all good. Full steam ahead to Sincerity Station, goddamn, what is it with me and trains today?” Dave interrupts, miming pulling a seatbelt across his chest and locking it into the sand. 

Karkat rolls his eyes - fondly - but continues. “It’s not a fucking sincerity nuclear explosion, chill the fuck out. And yes, I know you’re chill at all times because you’re “Dave Strider, literal god of chill, what the fuck even is time again?” I’m just trying to say that I’m glad we actually get along. We make a pretty good team.”

He pauses for a moment, unsure of where he’s going next even as the words start to tumble out again. “For some stupid, unfathomable reason, you’re my best friend. And I’m just - I’m glad that we’re friends or a team or whatever, especially since we’re not on a murder planet and now I can do shit like sit on a beach or go explore the world.”

“Oh, shit, exploring?” Dave says. “Dude, I didn’t know you wanted to be Christopher Columbus II over here. Well. Okay, bad example, but I didn’t finish middle school so I don’t know what you expect of me. Uh. Christopher Columbus II, the non-racist and non-genocidal version? That can be you.” 

“Who the fuck is Christopher Columbus?” Karkat says. Part of him wants to be a little annoyed at Dave for responding to his, frankly, pretty heartfelt statement with whatever the fuck he just said, but he’s both used to it and relieved that they’ve left whatever territory they were stumbling towards before Karkat had the chance to say something embarrassing. 

“Some old Earth douchebag, doesn’t matter,” Dave says. “Seriously, though, you want to explore?”

“Why not? It’s not like I could go anywhere before, and I mean -“ Karkat pauses to gesture out at the ocean in front of them - “it’s nothing like Alternia here, and a lot of it’s just… nice. I don’t want to just look at my block forever.” 

“Hell, no, dude, that’d be totally cool,” Dave says. He stretches his legs out in front of himself, sending a couple crabs and crows skittering both aside and onto his ankles, and tilts his head up towards the sky. “You know, if you asked them, I bet Jade and Jake would totally love to go with you.”

“Yeah, probably,” Karkat says. He’s quiet for a moment, then blurts out, “It’d be cool to have my best friend with me, though. Someone I care about. Fuck, not that I don’t care about Jade, Jade’s basically the only redeemable human, but. Yeah,” before he can convince himself not to.

Dave is quiet.  _ Shit.  _ Karkat is more than halfway to panic mode, afraid he might've let slip too much, when Dave finally speaks, his joking tone almost seems forced - although maybe that’s just Karkat reading too much into things. “Shit, dude, you care about me?” 

“No, I take it back,” Karkat says, mock-glaring at Dave. “I was talking to Red Miles, obviously.” 

“Well, duh,” Dave says, smiling back at him. His smile falls back into his usual poker face a moment later, though, and then he says, surprisingly sincerely, “But, uh, me too, dude. The caring about you thing, I mean.”

Karkat’s glare softens and he looks away from Dave, hoping that his sudden blush isn’t too obvious. “I know, dumbass.” 

Dave doesn’t seem to have anything else to say to that, so this time, Karkat lets the quiet be. It settles over them like a blanket as the waves crash and the sun sets, and Karkat thinks to himself that, honestly, as much as he wants to explore, he’d be perfectly content spending the rest of his life right here. 

...

They sit there, on the soft, silky sand for a while, enjoying the sound of the waves and the gentle breeze on their faces, a breeze that sways the smell of salt from the open ocean. Dave notices a pair of seagulls disappearing in the distance above the horizon, where the sun has sunk lower, touching the line where the sky meets the sea. Orange rays reflect on the water’s surface, glinting in a way he has never seen before. Once, a long time ago, that huge flaming ball of gasses used to reflect on the smooth surface of his sword and irritate his eyes. Right now, though, it’s not an enemy anymore. 

Next to him, Karkat is silent, his sincere words and desire to travel and explore still hanging in the back of his mind. Dave never considered it before, travelling just for the sake of travelling. He never considered what people would get out of it - after all, he spent three years doing just that, moving from place A to place B - but right now, he thinks he understands what Karkat means. He wants to have someone to come along for that journey, right? Isn’t there a saying that claims that travelling with someone you know can change your life for the better? 

The weight behind Karkat’s consideration of taking Dave along doesn’t escape him. His eyes meet the original crow - the one that reminds him of Karkat so much - and they hold a pretty intense staring contest, red eyes clashing with black spheres. The crow doesn’t say anything for a long time, until eventually, it tilts its head in a challenge and flicks its wing.

_ Tell him. _

He suddenly feels the need to distract himself, so he begins to play with the sand, letting it spill between his fingers, studying the texture. The novelty of touching sand this soft hasn’t worn off quite yet, so he revels in the distraction from his cluttering thoughts. He knows that Karkat keeps sneaking glances at him, at the sand between his fingers, and, as always, it lingers. Dave doesn’t mind. In a way, he’s guilty of doing the exact same thing, too. 

The rush of the waves splashing the seashore gets interrupted by a loud croak, soon followed by many more. They both flinch, the peace broken. Karkat glares, first at the crows, then at the crabs beside him, his whole body tense. 

“Guys, stop that,” Karkat orders. 

The little growl he made would have been endearing in other circumstances, if only Dave wasn’t busy deciphering what the fuck the crows are saying.

_ Dave! Dave! You should just go for it! _

A bunch of other encouragements and expletives get mixed into the noise, making it hard for Dave to distinguish a word. All the crows start to flock to them, fluttering their wings, trying to be as noisy as possible. Some of them hop over to Karkat, the ruffle of their feathers forceful, meaningful. Alarmed, Karkat gasps and scoots away. 

“What the fuck,” Karkat says, teeth gritted. He turns at Dave, face furrowed in confusion. “Are you making them do this?” 

Dave opens his mouth to answer that, no, he isn’t, the crows have totally flown out of the handle, that this is exactly what he meant by invading his personal space, but he doesn’t get the chance. One of the crows snaps its wings a little too close to Dave’s face and he backs off, narrowly avoiding the impact. 

“Hey, watch out!” Dave warns, his words having zero effect on the situation. 

Karkat scrambles himself closer in order to avoid the crabs crowding him from one side, until he has nowhere to go and their shoulders touch. 

_ Tick tock, Dave. What are you waiting for? Tell him!  _

Dave swallows. 

“Guys, come on,” he tries, trying to stay calm. “That’s not very cool of y-” 

“Aaaaugh!!” Karkat collects himself enough, waving his hands in frustration and shifts his weight to kneel in the sand, picking up one of the bigger crabs in the small army currently surrounding him. “Okay,  _ that  _ was rude, little lady. I am taking all the time I fucking need. It’s not like I want to leave tomorrow, Jesus!” He points down at the other crabs. “I will  _ not  _ do that. I want to end today with my dignity intact, capische?”

A crow lands in front of him. A new one, one he hasn’t spoken to yet - and it stands there calmly, ignoring the mayhem around them. Dave stares. 

The crow regards him seriously.  _ There are two ways this day ends - you either go ahead and finally tell Karkat how you feel, or you don’t, in which case my friends and I here will be very disappointed. You know very well which outcome is favorable in this scenario.  _

“Bastards,” Dave mutters. 

_ We are not here to force you into something you already don’t want yourself, you know? Obviously, you just need the correct push in the right direction. It’s either us who do the pushing, or your friends, and I think that you’d prefer confessing to Karkat without anyone being privy to it. Am I right or am I right?  _

Dave groans, running a hand through his hair and, fuck it. Alright. He hates to admit it but the stupid crow has a point. Damn. He turns his attention away from the troublesome animals with newfound determination, and focuses on Karkat, ignoring the mess around them. 

The troll manages to get the crabs under control by shooing them away and huffs, looking up at the sky as if he were asking for someone to help him. Then, he closes his eyes and carefully counts to ten. 

There is residual sea salt and some sand stuck to Karkat’s knees and elbows, his hair dark and unruly, like always. All of his exposed skin absorbed the sunlight from the few days he had been spending time outside, tinting it a shade darker. A shade healthier. Dave imagines Karkat exploring Earth C’s vast forests, climbing the mountains, exploring the universe they created, and the image does funny things to Dave’s insides. Funny  _ and  _ warm. God, he’s super deep, isn’t he? 

Karkat’s eyes slowly open as he looks down at Dave. There is a tint of red in the dark irises, the golden sclera almost gleaming in the setting sun. Soon, those pretty eyes will match Dave’s own. Their intensity grounds Dave, and he lets them do so on instinct. 

The noise dies down almost immediately. Dave starts to giggle completely unprompted, not really knowing why. There is nothing particularly funny about the moment, but the realization that he would really follow Karkat anywhere makes him light-headed, and, goddammit - he pretty much wants to spend the rest of eternity by Karkat’s side. The thought of Jade or Jake doing that feels wrong. Completely fucking backwards. Unthinkable. 

Karkat blinks at thim in confusion for a second, but then chuckles at the mess around them too.

They both try to speak up at the same time. 

“Why are you-”

“Dude, listen-”

They pause to let the other finish, and Karkat apparently finds that ridiculous, because he gestures for Dave to go on, giving him the word. “You first.”

Dave lets out a noisy breath and scrambles to his knees as well, mirroring Karkat’s position and gestures for the both of them to stand up. “Brace yourself,” he says, “I’m about to lay down a pretty fucking big truth bomb as well.”

“Oh, really,” Karkat says, heaving himself to his feet, no real heat behind it. 

There is so much sand stuck to both of them, especially Karkat, and Dave absent-mindedly reaches and brushes some off Karkat’s shorts. Karkat follows Dave’s example and scrubs some of the dried particles of salt on his elbows - more or less successfully. That one will require a shower, probably. Dave lets go of Karkat’s sandy shorts and keeps his hand hovering mid-reach. 

“Yeah, man, totally. These little shits right here wouldn’t let me live it down if I left them hanging, y’know? They are so  _ demanding _ .” A caw. “And should give us some fucking  _ space _ .” He glares at the nearest crow, which flicks its wing one last, decisive time, as if it were flipping him off, and then spreads its wings and sits down on a huge boulder nearby. 

“All of you!”

_ Scatter! _ another crow orders, and on that cue, all them take off, leaving the crabs landbound. Dave doesn’t pay attention to them after that. The fuckers will probably sit and watch the whole show from above. 

Oh boy. 

He’s really doing it, isn't he? He’s making it  _ happen _ . 

Dave wiggles his fingers to get some of the nerves out of his system and then slowly, hesitantly, reaches for Karkat’s hand. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve held hands, since Karkat has gotten Dave used to the prospect of a pale relationship over the years. They’ve been at this game of quadrant smearing for a while now without truly setting into anything yet. But, that’s the thing. Dave doesn’t want to settle for just one quadrant. He wants Karkat in all of the quadrants. 

Holy fuck. Okay. 

Karkat wordlessly squeezes his hand, patiently waiting for Dave to get his shit together. He is literally an endless culmination of patience, something Dave still struggles to grasp. How the guy managed to survive the three years on a flying rock and tolerate Dave’s bottomless well of insecurities is beyond him. 

Dave takes a proper inhale in his lungs, you know, casually, because it’s not like he’s about to say something that can potentially change everything he knows and loves about his relationship with Karkat. 

“Okay, so, I want to take a couple of steps back and take a proper look at what you said previously, before we got assaulted by local fauna for no reason. Let’s dissect that shit properly, just to make sure I understand. You want to explore the world. That’s great, man, I’m stoked as fuck to finally see you at the other side of the dark tunnel. The three-years-to-cross-and-a-final-boss-to-defeat kind of a tunnel, if you will.” He takes another breath to quit saying unnecessary words. Keep it real, Strider. You got this shit covered. “And, you know, watching you come out of it alive and breathing, and somehow still having a will to find a goal like that, I respect that. I like the idea.” He clears his throat. Come on, Dave, make words happen. You are good at those. It’s just Karkat. “I think it’s a great idea, to explore this entire fucking universe that is just out there, all vast and full of rocks and new planets. Waiting for us to take it.” 

Karkat takes in every word, the expression on his face looking like something that Dave could only describe as fond. “Dave...” 

“No, hold on,” Dave stops him gently. “Let me finish. Scratch what I said about Jade or Jake. They are both very adventurous people, I’m sure of that, but man, I think I want to be the one to snatch the tickets to the Titanic and go on a luxurious sail across the universe.” A pause. Karkat opens his mouth, ready to argue. “No, don’t say anything, I fucking know what happens to my man Jack at the end. He gets the girl and then dies, but what gives? I don’t care. The difference between him and us is that we already survived the shipwreck. We boarded the rescue boats, fought our way through the boss battle and made it to America. Except now that you’ve made the decision to keep travelling, there is nothing keeping me here. I want to go with you.” 

The gentlest of smiles blooms on Dave’s lips as he says that and he wonders where he learned to smile like this. 

Huh. Maybe it just comes naturally. And maybe it comes with the craft of trying to reference the movies in Karkat’s library. Either way it seems to do the trick, because the look on Karkat’s dumbstruck face is totally worth it. What a sight to see. Now, this moment would be perfect if his heart wasn’t doing somersaults in his ribcage. Being sincere is hard.

“And,” Dave adds finally, preparing to hammer the point home, ready to go all or nothing into this one. “And, I would be super happy to do it as more… than friends...” Dave trails off, mind buzzing. “But only if that’s what you want. I hope I’m not reading this incorrectly, but yeah. That would be great.” 

Dave’s cheeks are definitely burning, but then again, so are Karkat’s. He doesn’t think it’s from embarrassment, though, and just the nervosity and anticipation bubbling under his skin like warm tea.

“I can go with you, is what I mean by that,” he finishes, reveling in how nice Karkat’s fingers feel in his palm. 

Now, all he needs is Karkat’s response. He looks… God, it’s hard to pinpoint, but Dave can’t look away from his eyes. They are dumbstruck and searching, intensely staring at him, trying to anchor themselves somewhere very specific, and that is when it dawns on Dave that he can’t see through Dave’s shades. Dave reaches up with his free hand and touches the dark frames, wondering how it is possible that Karkat hadn’t asked him to put them down yet. 

He’s said it once and he will say it again. Karkat is patience incarnate. Dave could learn a thing or two from that. 

“Take them off,” Karkat encourages when he notices Dave’s hesitation, tilting his head. “Let me see you.” 

Well shit. Karkat is taking his time responding to Dave’s heartfelt speech, but that’s okay. He feels that whatever he’s about to say will be much nicer to hear with vision unrestricted. He grabs the one arm of the sunglasses and slides them off his nose, blinking with how much more saturated everything looks now. Huh. His earlier observations suddenly don’t give enough credit to how pretty this particular beach is. 

He doesn’t dwell on it too long, however, his vision focused solely on Karkat. 

“Dave,” the troll starts, a grateful smile on his face. “I’d really like that. And that’s exactly what I meant, earlier, but I didn’t want to push.” He intertwines his slightly shorter fingers with Dave’s own and they slot together perfectly. A familiar grin appears on his face. “Took you long enough, Strider. Three years of trying to settle the mess that is our relationship and this is what it all culminates to. You suggesting to be ‘more than friends’ followed by a very shitty Titanic reference.”

“Hey, at least you know I paid attention to the actual movie. But, more importantly, Karkat, I still don’t understand.”

“What?”

“How is it possible?” Dave asks, genuinely curious. “How is it possible that out of all outcomes, out of all possibilities, Paradox Space gave me you. You are literally the first person who never took my bullshit at face value. You somehow always saw right through it and liked what was there, even though I guarded that shit like my life depended on it.” He drops the shades into the sand, making sure they don’t hit any crab or don’t break on a rock, and steps closer, unhappy with the distance between them. He uses his now free hand to reach for Karkat’s face, lightly brushing some of the sand stuck under his jaw off. He already knew Karkat’s skin was smooth, but this particular patch of skin is much softer. It’s how Dave imagines silk feels like. “How is it possible that I saw through  _ you _ ? And I know that we already talked about it, about the choices we made in life, about how fucked up the Alpha timeline must be for demanding that some people die in order for us to live, but I can’t help but  _ wonder _ ...” he wills his hand to cup Karkat’s cheek properly, everything he wanted to say evaporating like morning mist out of his mind. He could only focus on the wide eyes full of life in front of him, not knowing what he would do if the universe ever decided to fuck Dave over as one final fuck you and took Karkat away from him. 

“Hey, Dave, I know. It’s ok,” Karkat says with a voice barely above a whisper, leaning into the touch. He squeezes Dave’s hand and presses it to his own chest, light and comforting. “It’s as you once told me, remember? People made their choices, and the outcome of those choices is what put us right where we needed to be. The only thing we had left was to choose what to do next, and that’s exactly what we did. And I made my choice. I chose to be your friend, Dave. Paradox Space had fuckall to do with that. I have actively made the decision to talk to you and then decided that talking to you was worthwhile - if I didn’t like talking to you, I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now. Do you want to know where I would be, Dave? I would be fucking dead, because Vriska would have driven me up the wall crazy on that piece of shit of a rock.” 

Dave laughs at that, because that is probably true, if only a bit over exaggerated. He understands, though. He probably would have ended up in the same position. Even then, the words ring true in his ears. 

Karkat chose him.  _ Dave _ . He feels dizzy all of a sudden. 

“Whoa,” he says intelligently. “So, you still want me to come with you, right?”

“Oh my god, of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Ok, just checking.”

Karkat chuckles with a smile, and that's how Dave gets a perfect view of his sharp teeth, which leaves him wondering whether they are really as sharp as they look. He wants to find out. He really, really wants to find out. 

Karkat slings an arm around Dave’s neck and Dave eagerly leans into him, the gentle scratches at the nape of his neck comforting and very, very pleasant. And warm. 

“Karkat,” Dave murmurs, snaking his hands around Karkat’s middle, pulling him into a tight hug. He opens his mouth to say more, he feels like he should say something in return, but the words get tangled on his tongue, refusing to form into something comprehensive. He exhales noisily into Karkat’s shoulder, who hums in response. “This feels so surreal.” 

“What does? The fact that I care about your stupid ass, or the fact that I absolutely want you to stay by my side, Dave?” 

Dave tightens the hug, lost for words. He feels like he should say it. He really should. It’s literally the perfect moment to say it, so why  _ can’t  _ he- “I- You...” He swallows. “ _ Karkat _ .”

The hand on his neck slides into his hair, scratching systematically at his scalp, the familiarity of it combined with Karkat’s closeness soothing him, one stroke at a time. And it’s funny, in a way, because Dave feels like maybe he should probably return the favor, somehow, but right now he has the troll wrapped in his arms and he doesn’t want to let go. Tension leaves him, little by little, leaving him light-headed. Is Karkat shoosh papping him? It looks like it. He knows how to recognize those by now. He smiles, nose buried in Karkat’s neck. Everything smells like seasalt. 

Dave pulls away enough to look Karkat in the eyes and once again cups his cheek, this time with newfound confidence. He runs the pad of his thumb over the ever-present, tired skin under his eyes. They are half-lidded, looking at him kindly. 

Huh. If someone told Dave three years ago that he would get the chance to land a proper smooch on Karkat, he would disregard that idea completely and maybe freak out a little once he knew he was alone. Right now, however, he  _ really  _ wants to find out the truth about those teeth. Hm. Is it weird that he’s thinking about Karkat’s teeth again? Is he seriously not capable of producing a single coherent thought, like, say, about Karkat’s lips? Because those are right there. Oh, look, now he is biting at them, which, okay. He needs to do something about that, like, asap. 

Karkat, the bastard, raises an eyebrow at him, challenging Dave to do something. 

“Dude,” Dave says, done with the way his brain short circuits at the sight. “No more of that.” He uses both hands to tilt Karkat’s head and leans in, close enough to let their noses brush. There is only one thing he needs to close the gap. “May I?” 

The smile on Karkat’s lips widens, which is the brightest smile Dave has ever seen, and wow. He almost feels guilty for what he’s about to do, because that smile definitely deserves to last. Oh well. 

“Yes, you idiot.”

Dave grins before finally leaning down. Karkat tilts his head back, wordlessly responding to the gentle pressure. It is unbearably slow and sweet at first, only a brush. He closes his eyes focusing on what to do next, losing himself to the moment. Karkat parts his lips to take it one step further, which Dave eagerly follows, pleasantly surprised to taste salt on Karkat’s tongue, as if the ocean has embedded within all of him, the insides and the outsides. It doesn’t taste bad at all. He slides his hands in Karkat’s unruly hair, wanting to return the favor from before, and hums in gratification when Karkat melts under his fingers like cotton candy.

Dave’s everything is on fire. From the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes, he feels light, invulnerable, gaining the strength to keep living for more moments like this - and the thought makes him smile against his own will, breaking the kiss before he completely manages to lose track of time. Karkat truly has that effect on him. It’s okay, though, because Karkat smiles too, all shy and flushed cheeks, eyes still closed, and there is something lovely about that, so Dave bends down again and kisses the corner of his mouth, his cheeks, his temples, and Karkat snaps his his eyes open and giggles, honest to god  _ giggles _ , trying to push him away because would you look at it- apparently it  _ tickles _ . 

When he looks down on the sand and checks the nearby rocks, the crabs are nowhere to be found. When he looks up to question their disappearance, Karkat points towards the sky, where a bunch of tiny birds disappear in the distance, done with their goal, and Dave loses interest in knowing where the animals went. If they really want, they can come back later. 

But right now, they are free to go wherever, and Dave knows that for the first time in his life, he is too. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading!


End file.
